An inside look at the CAD, CAM and CAE industry - by Roopinder Tara

Graphisoft

April 14, 2014

TOKYO, Japan --Graphisoft, best known for its stand-alone, desktop-based ArchiCAD, has rolled out a cloud offering. Its BIMcloud appears to be primarily for purposes of collaboration. Having a BIM model on the cloud will allow far-flung users to work on different aspect of the same model.

A main advantage of BIMcloud over Autodesk’s Revit Server appears to be its lack of complexity, says Viktor Varkonyi, CEO of Graphisoft. It can be used with as little as one server (which may be even be run of the mill PC) as opposed to Revit Server, which requires one server for each physical office location.

Can it be this simple? GS BIMcloud (left) can turn a single ordinary PC into a server and can be installed by a small firm with no IT support. By contrast, Revit Server, needs a server at each location, rented VPN and lots of IT.

Indeed, Graphisoft BIMcloud looks startlingly simple, as if could take a computer I no longer have any user for, plug it into the network, and voila! I have a server that can dispense drawings and help my colleagues collaborate. As if. It won’t be that easy, of course. It will take time and effort and require tech support phone calls, Googling for help, being forced to learn arcane commands unique to servers, stuff beyond my training, job description and interest, cajoling and cursing, but if I were to believe Graphisoft at all, I may have a chance of getting it right. That is their claim.

I contrast that to a demo I received of Revit Server which seemed to revel in complexity. Granted, the demo was delivered by a consultant whose main interest was in showing mastery over a beast, and it would benefit him for all to pay him as there was no hope of an ordinary person. Still, I marvelled at how a product could spawn a minor industry in its implementation and maintenance.

A few other notable distinctions about GS BIM Cloud:

Revit requires a server in each office and a VPN connection. Graphisoft only one and no VPN connection.

April 03, 2014

TOKYO, Japan - GRAPHISOFT chose Tokyo to announce BIM Cloud (see press release), a cloud based collaboration, storage service targeted for architects and the construction industry. Why would a company based in Hungary, with its biggest customer base in Europe, pick Japan for a product launch? It turns out that Japan has been a big success for Graphisoft.

Spring blooms near Japanese temple. We have cherry blossom forecasts, says Graphisoft's Tatsuro Kawai, who lives in Tokyo.

“Graphisoft is used by 4 of the top 5 AEC firms in Japan,” says Viktor Várkonyi, CEO of Graphisoft, who is determined to spread this sort of success into the rest of Asia.

Graphisoft admits its acceptance of Archicad software by big AEC firms in Japan is a bit of an anomaly. Though it has less than 15% of the market share in the US, where Autodesk and Revit enjoy a secure and significant lead, Japan is quite the opposite. What has made this so? A longstanding commitment, an attention to customer needs and, very importantly, a Japanese emphasis on merit over marketing, says Viktor. Autodesk may have a bigger marketing budget, but the Japanese refuse to be swayed, focusing instead on whether the software can do the job.

Graphisoft is indeed the envy of other CAD companies, confirms one CAD insider. They're entrenched. Bigger CAD companies have left Japan disappointed. Grpahisoft has adapted its software to the needs of Japanese industry. Bence Kovacs, general manager and VP of Asia, left his native Hungary 14 years ago to head an all-Japanese 20-person team that includes developers in Tokyo’s Akasaka district -- an area known for its corporate demeanour by day and its bars and restaurants by night. More on that later.

Architecture firm Nikken Sekkei, famous for the design of what may be the world's tallest structure, the Tokyo Sky Tree and probably the single iconic image of Tokyo’s skyline, has been one such firm and faithful Graphisoft customer. Nissen mandates BIM for its 1200 architects and is trying to spread the gospel of BIM to other firms it does business with. Despite acceptance of BIM among the big Japanese firms, the small and midsize firms still rely on 2D – and AutoCAD.

“But it is a top-down culture,” says the hopeful Bence. “The smaller companies will look to see what the big companies are doing.”